Two teams jolted by recent defeats will be eager to get back the winning momentum. Royal Challengers Bangalore have just a day to shake off a stunning defeat at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders, for it was a game they weren't meant to lose. Any team needing 25 off 18 balls with seven wickets in hand would back itself to seal it, but a combination of nerves, intelligent death bowling from Vinay Kumar, and a blinder of an outfield catch from Chris Lynn turned the match on its head.

It was Royal Challengers' first defeat in three games, but more importantly, it was the wake-up call they needed to ward off complacency. Chris Gayle's likely return will perk them up, but the opening position is not their worry, for they have managed well without him. Yuvraj Singh has scores of 52*, 0 and 31 but he won't be very satisfied with his strike-rate. Virat Kohli cannot be expected to win them every game, which means the others around him have to be more consistent.

Still, the Royal Challengers may not be as concerned about form as the Rajasthan Royals will be. The team succumbed to Glenn Maxwell defending 191 and against Chennai Super Kings, they failed to chase 141. They could not pin down Super Kings at 74 for 5, and despite restricting them to a middling total, the batsmen never really asserted themselves. It begs the question of whether Shane Watson should move up the order, with Abhishek Nayar struggling. If Watson can take control at the top, it relieves the pressure on the middle order.

Watch out for

Varun Aaron had to endure negative press coming into this IPL, after he leaked 74 off only 7.5 overs in an ODI against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup. Fortunately, he has managed to turn that around with economical spells. He took 1 for 9 off three overs against Delhi Daredevils and his best performance was 3 for 16 against Knight Riders. That he has managed to be penetrative without compromising on his pace is a bonus for Royal Challengers and himself.

Rajat Bhatia joked that the Dubai pitch was slower than his bowling. The experienced medium-pacer has been hard to get at because of the pace he takes off the ball, forcing the batsmen to use extra muscle to clear the long boundaries. He makes the batsmen play to his tunes and that explains his economy rate of 6.63. He was at his miserly best against Super Kings, giving away just 13 off four overs and picking up two wickets.

Stats and trivia

Among current players, Shane Watson is the leading run-scorer in matches between Royals and Royal Challengers, with 210 runs. The record, though, is held by Rahul Dravid (323) who has retired.

Virat Kohli has a below-par record against Royals, with only 158 runs at a below-par strike rate of 92 and an average of 17.55

"Chris Gayle's likely return will perk them up … Yuvraj Singh has scores of 52*, 0 and 31 but he won't be very satisfied with his strike-rate. Virat Kohli cannot be expected to win them every game, which means the others around him have to be more consistent."

The best way to find that consistency is to bring AB de Villiers up the batting order. Period. Does Yuvraj come in before him because: 1. Yuvraj is a better batsman, or 2.RCB paid $2.3 million for him? The answer is clearly not 1.

AB bats best when he has a few balls to settle down, & is not forced by scoreboard pressure to go big immediately. AB is a brilliant finisher , but is always at his best when he has had some time at the crease to build an innings. Yuvraj too has been a brilliant batsman,but he is not one right now: he used up just over a quarter of the balls RCB faced, and scored 31 runs.

Over a lon ger time at the crease, AB will score more runs - now. Maybe Yuvraj will find better form? How many losses till then?

POSTED BY
on | April 26, 2014, 10:06 GMT

Yuvi needs to bat lower in the order. He's turning out to be a liability for RCB. Patel and Takawale should open, Virat at 3, AB at 4 and Yuvi at 5.

POSTED BY
on | April 26, 2014, 9:53 GMT

Why is Unmukt Chand not being given a chance? A genuine aggressive opener.

POSTED BY
AbdulHaqSamoon
on | April 26, 2014, 8:40 GMT

Hungry of waiting for gale return. interesting to see him once again hitting top of the ground!

POSTED BY
Snambidi
on | April 26, 2014, 7:57 GMT

Day by day or rather night by night this season's IndianT20 League is becoming more and more interesting.The MAXMILLS innings alone is understood to have established a large number of viewers&followers on computer besides live streams on internet.
The impact of Maxwell's 6s&4s have made T20 more popular.
until last season when Azhar Mahmood of Pakistan had dominated Punjab..
this season no trace of him.
but no one bothered about his absence because of Maxwell&Mills who have relly dominated as could be seen from their solid 6 points from 3 matches.
if no bowler could stop Maxwell there is no doubt this season the cup would go to Mohali Team.

the pietist part of the season is the lack of form of Gautam Gambhir.If he continues this way India will have to say Good bye to a wonderful lefty for ever.Even Ranji Trophy organisers would think twice before enrolling Gambhir.
so has to improve necessarily.

Chennai,Bangalore seem to be on right track so far.
tonight it is going tobe superb

POSTED BY
android_user
on | April 26, 2014, 7:43 GMT

yuvi should not come before 16th over.. he need to believe in himself and go for big hits..

POSTED BY
gundapps
on | April 26, 2014, 7:31 GMT

Can't help but feel that RCB will rue the acquisition of Yuvi. The last match could have been in the bag for them if only he had increased his strike rate when it mattered. RCB are left with no option but to play him in the eleven as no alternative strikers or finishers are there in their squad.
Also Murali is a shadow of what he was - Jakati should be played in his place

POSTED BY
RCB_Devastators
on | April 26, 2014, 7:19 GMT

I am very much eager to see Varun Aaron bowling 140+ kmph bouncers....

RR should consider Unmukt chand coz he will hit 20 or 30 odd runs in 15 balls which allows rahane to settle down and play long innings....and its RR day tomorrow and watson is going to explode as an allrounder tomorrow

POSTED BY
Greatest_Game
on | April 26, 2014, 14:04 GMT

"Chris Gayle's likely return will perk them up … Yuvraj Singh has scores of 52*, 0 and 31 but he won't be very satisfied with his strike-rate. Virat Kohli cannot be expected to win them every game, which means the others around him have to be more consistent."

The best way to find that consistency is to bring AB de Villiers up the batting order. Period. Does Yuvraj come in before him because: 1. Yuvraj is a better batsman, or 2.RCB paid $2.3 million for him? The answer is clearly not 1.

AB bats best when he has a few balls to settle down, & is not forced by scoreboard pressure to go big immediately. AB is a brilliant finisher , but is always at his best when he has had some time at the crease to build an innings. Yuvraj too has been a brilliant batsman,but he is not one right now: he used up just over a quarter of the balls RCB faced, and scored 31 runs.

Over a lon ger time at the crease, AB will score more runs - now. Maybe Yuvraj will find better form? How many losses till then?

POSTED BY
on | April 26, 2014, 10:06 GMT

Yuvi needs to bat lower in the order. He's turning out to be a liability for RCB. Patel and Takawale should open, Virat at 3, AB at 4 and Yuvi at 5.

POSTED BY
on | April 26, 2014, 9:53 GMT

Why is Unmukt Chand not being given a chance? A genuine aggressive opener.

POSTED BY
AbdulHaqSamoon
on | April 26, 2014, 8:40 GMT

Hungry of waiting for gale return. interesting to see him once again hitting top of the ground!

POSTED BY
Snambidi
on | April 26, 2014, 7:57 GMT

Day by day or rather night by night this season's IndianT20 League is becoming more and more interesting.The MAXMILLS innings alone is understood to have established a large number of viewers&followers on computer besides live streams on internet.
The impact of Maxwell's 6s&4s have made T20 more popular.
until last season when Azhar Mahmood of Pakistan had dominated Punjab..
this season no trace of him.
but no one bothered about his absence because of Maxwell&Mills who have relly dominated as could be seen from their solid 6 points from 3 matches.
if no bowler could stop Maxwell there is no doubt this season the cup would go to Mohali Team.

the pietist part of the season is the lack of form of Gautam Gambhir.If he continues this way India will have to say Good bye to a wonderful lefty for ever.Even Ranji Trophy organisers would think twice before enrolling Gambhir.
so has to improve necessarily.

Chennai,Bangalore seem to be on right track so far.
tonight it is going tobe superb

POSTED BY
android_user
on | April 26, 2014, 7:43 GMT

yuvi should not come before 16th over.. he need to believe in himself and go for big hits..

POSTED BY
gundapps
on | April 26, 2014, 7:31 GMT

Can't help but feel that RCB will rue the acquisition of Yuvi. The last match could have been in the bag for them if only he had increased his strike rate when it mattered. RCB are left with no option but to play him in the eleven as no alternative strikers or finishers are there in their squad.
Also Murali is a shadow of what he was - Jakati should be played in his place

POSTED BY
RCB_Devastators
on | April 26, 2014, 7:19 GMT

I am very much eager to see Varun Aaron bowling 140+ kmph bouncers....

RR should consider Unmukt chand coz he will hit 20 or 30 odd runs in 15 balls which allows rahane to settle down and play long innings....and its RR day tomorrow and watson is going to explode as an allrounder tomorrow

POSTED BY
Mrcricketbutnothussey
on | April 26, 2014, 6:53 GMT

Nothing wrong abt RR batting its only abt Watson. watson should bat as MSD is batting. That is with some calmness ...

POSTED BY
shashikumar.d.27
on | April 26, 2014, 6:48 GMT

this is going to be a good contest b/w RCB & RR,but RCB holds the edge.RR batting has not been consistent this year and on the other hand RCB are looking good even without gayle & their bowling is decent enough.RR should perform well to win this .i think virat will have big knock today.

POSTED BY
android_user
on | April 26, 2014, 6:16 GMT

well i havin this funny feelin tht RR will won todays first match ... tho RCB look very strong n they will be firin all cylinders after gettin defeated frm KKR but today i think tht there main weakness will be exploited tht is der bowlin and the big ego of the team.... but i do feel like RR should change is playin 11 chand should come so as hodge n abdulla should find a place in the team all three r very good fielder as well which is very important... apart frm this hodge provide tht senior statesmenship for the team ...my playin 11 will be ...1- rahane , 2- chand , 3-samson, 4- watto, 5- smith , 6-binny , 7-hodge , 8- bhatia , 9 -soutee , 10- kulkarni ,11 - abdulla ........ n plz watto n binny should bowl more over rather thn 1 over which we have seen in last few matches ...... COME ON RR HALLA BOL...

POSTED BY
kevindouglas
on | April 26, 2014, 5:09 GMT

Tambe and fulkner seems scopeless in 2014 edition of IPL. RR-Iqbal Abdulla should be replaced for tambe, Cooper instead of Faulkner,KK nair instead of A nayar,

POSTED BY
udaykiran.goru
on | April 26, 2014, 4:36 GMT

Unmukt Chand may bring more fire the opening combination for Rajasthan Royals. Watson should play a long innings.. Come On RR..

POSTED BY
android_user
on | April 26, 2014, 4:33 GMT

where is brad hodge.. he should be played each n every match. a soleworthy classical finisher. base of middle order. he should be replaced wid smith. who was flop last match. juss scored 20 of 19 balls.

POSTED BY
android_user
on | April 26, 2014, 4:19 GMT

sanju samson is going to score big tomo :-):-)

POSTED BY
on | April 26, 2014, 4:16 GMT

rahane is not expressing him freely.....he is taking a lot of pressure to perform....

POSTED BY
android_user
on | April 26, 2014, 4:08 GMT

abd should bat at no 4. it helps him to face some extra deliveries. Faulkner should drop for kooper. Watson should open the innings. RR away record is not so good. kohli has to lead from the front. good see Aron bowling wit pace. good have Donald as rcb bowling coach. common yuvi do something special

POSTED BY
on | April 25, 2014, 22:25 GMT

Pls play rampaul instead of starc

POSTED BY
on | April 25, 2014, 21:10 GMT

My RCB XI are Partiv, takawale, Gayle, Kholi, devillers, morkel, Rana, aaron, starc, chahal, dinda. Don't want yuvi in current form, as the batting is being brought to halt by him. If gayle plays starting 10 deliveries then every chance of big score. In other case if RR batsman fall early, then RCB might restrict them to less score. RCB rule

POSTED BY
Rambo_93
on | April 25, 2014, 19:43 GMT

I think its Going to be RCB to pull this off. They got batting to face RR bowling but, RR batting is not yet settled to face RCB'S bowling which seems to be good.

POSTED BY
android_user
on | April 25, 2014, 18:42 GMT

Rcb will win no dowt..Rahane is nt team player he is selfish just doing 50s and securing his place ..stric rate mainting 110 + binny should fire tommrrw

POSTED BY
unlocker
on | April 25, 2014, 18:35 GMT

This year ipl team follow just their batting line up like as kxip and RCB but in this team no have any t20 special bowler .rcb is going good with their local bowling .kxip won 3 match in a row just showed their bating power and they can't find out yet any special T20 bowlers .rr and kkr have no big name but in this both team have all rounder .and t20 is all rounder match that's why kkr and rr is balanced team specially rr have 8 all rounders

POSTED BY
android_user
on | April 25, 2014, 18:00 GMT

rcb won the match

POSTED BY
android_user
on | April 25, 2014, 17:16 GMT

tommorow rahane special inning comes

No featured comments at the moment.

POSTED BY
android_user
on | April 25, 2014, 17:16 GMT

tommorow rahane special inning comes

POSTED BY
android_user
on | April 25, 2014, 18:00 GMT

rcb won the match

POSTED BY
unlocker
on | April 25, 2014, 18:35 GMT

This year ipl team follow just their batting line up like as kxip and RCB but in this team no have any t20 special bowler .rcb is going good with their local bowling .kxip won 3 match in a row just showed their bating power and they can't find out yet any special T20 bowlers .rr and kkr have no big name but in this both team have all rounder .and t20 is all rounder match that's why kkr and rr is balanced team specially rr have 8 all rounders

POSTED BY
android_user
on | April 25, 2014, 18:42 GMT

Rcb will win no dowt..Rahane is nt team player he is selfish just doing 50s and securing his place ..stric rate mainting 110 + binny should fire tommrrw

POSTED BY
Rambo_93
on | April 25, 2014, 19:43 GMT

I think its Going to be RCB to pull this off. They got batting to face RR bowling but, RR batting is not yet settled to face RCB'S bowling which seems to be good.

POSTED BY
on | April 25, 2014, 21:10 GMT

My RCB XI are Partiv, takawale, Gayle, Kholi, devillers, morkel, Rana, aaron, starc, chahal, dinda. Don't want yuvi in current form, as the batting is being brought to halt by him. If gayle plays starting 10 deliveries then every chance of big score. In other case if RR batsman fall early, then RCB might restrict them to less score. RCB rule

POSTED BY
on | April 25, 2014, 22:25 GMT

Pls play rampaul instead of starc

POSTED BY
android_user
on | April 26, 2014, 4:08 GMT

abd should bat at no 4. it helps him to face some extra deliveries. Faulkner should drop for kooper. Watson should open the innings. RR away record is not so good. kohli has to lead from the front. good see Aron bowling wit pace. good have Donald as rcb bowling coach. common yuvi do something special

POSTED BY
on | April 26, 2014, 4:16 GMT

rahane is not expressing him freely.....he is taking a lot of pressure to perform....